R8/DMR woes on the way to being sorted. Great service from MK - again

[marknorton]

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Is an R9 out of the question?

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[imported_peter_m]

I am sorry to hear it didn't work on the first go

 

If it is just the contacts like John suggested maybe cleaning the contacts and making an other trip to the dealer would be one course of action.

 

I also would get a hold of Solms and tell them of your troubles and ask them if they checked if your R8 was compatible with the DMR.

 

Peter

[marknorton]

DHL it to Solms on Monday, demand 24 hour turn-around, it will be back to you before the end of the week. Looks to me like Solms have screwed up.

[topoxforddoc]

Andy,

 

Sorry to hear about your woes. I had similar problem with my R9!!! My R9/DMR would not start and stay on unless I took the battery out and put it back in again. Solms sorted it out for me, but it took three weeks. Since then it has been faultless and I have barely looked at my kodachrome in the freezer or at my Ms sitting on the shelf. Leica at MK should be able to give you a turn around time. It will be worth it.

With the new air travel restrictions, taking your camera on your hls might prove to be a real headache. I have just bought a Peli 1510 hardcase for my cameras as I am going to France next Sunday. Got to check with my insurance company too.

 

Charlie

[wda]

Sorry to hear this tale of woe, Andy. Although not in this shopping league, your recounting of your experiences could be very helpful to others contemplating a similar upgrade pattern.

 

David

[wda]

Andy, a late thought: can you be sure that the DMR was not faulty?

 

Did you try it on another R8/9 from the dealer's stock?

 

David

[andybarton]

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Andy, a late thought: can you be sure that the DMR was not faulty?

 

Did you try it on another R8/9 from the dealer's stock?

 

David

 

The dealer is relinquishing is "Leica" status, due to their insistence on him keeping £40,000 worth of stock...

 

Apart from a couple of M lenses and this DMR, his entire stock is a filter...

 

But, you could be right - it might be the DMR. I very much doubt it though.

[stuny]

And -

 

My R8 is the same vintage as yours based on the leading serial numbers. I got it at the end of 1999. When I first fitted the DMR it iddn't work so I took a trip to Leica USA, along with my D2. Within an hour they fixed an unasked issue )new formware) with the D2 and ordered two parts for it. In that same time they got the DMR working, but it did not need a firmware upgrade -- just contact cleaning (and I tried cleaning the contacts with an audiophile approved solution before visitng Leica). All has remained fine since.

[uulrich]

Is there any way to figure out which of the R8 has a compatibility issue?

 

Quite frankly I find it very amusing to send in the R8 and ask this question from case to case. Besides, what is a potential buyer supposed to do?

[k_g_wolf ✝]

> Andy

 

instead of discussing this here in lenghts your camera could have been to SOLMS and back again, perhaps that is ...

 

You are perfectly right in being angry about this issue, esp. since your camera has been in the factory just now, as it seems. But we would rather like to hear from people that they have no complains about LEICA- gear, just to justify our own dishing out too many $$$$$, Pounds, Euros for our own stuff. Now you know you have an early R8, send it back again and tell SOLMS what happened to your camera and the DMR you tried in the shop.

 

THEY WANT people to buy DMRs, they do everything they can to please you and will work on your camera.

 

Be sure, and they won´t even charge for it, IMO. When you have it back - and the DMR is still there it will work.

 

In case of a VERY good offer for the DMR my option would be, getting it and sending both to SOLMS.

 

 

 

Best

[andybarton]

> Andy

 

instead of discussing this here in lenghts your camera could have been to SOLMS and back again, perhaps that is ...

 

You are perfectly right in being angry about this issue, esp. since your camera has been in the factory just now, as it seems. But we would rather like to hear from people that they have no complains about LEICA- gear, just to justify our own dishing out too many $$$$$, Pounds, Euros for our own stuff. Now you know you have an early R8, send it back again and tell SOLMS what happened to your camera and the DMR you tried in the shop.

 

THEY WANT people to buy DMRs, they do everything they can to please you and will work on your camera.

 

Be sure, and they won´t even charge for it, IMO. When you have it back - and the DMR is still there it will work.

 

In case of a VERY good offer for the DMR my option would be, getting it and sending both to SOLMS.

 

 

 

Best

 

 

I don't think it could have got to Solms and back since Saturday

 

What I consider ridiculous is that some R8 owners have to buy a DMR and then hope that their body can be made to work with it - having spent three grand in the process.

 

IMHO, if DMRs work 99 / 100 on R9s, but regularly don't work on R8s (which may or may not be the case), they should only sell them to R9 users, not R8 users.

 

I feel a bit let down by the whole experience and a bit irritated. It really is a lot of hassle to buy one a DMR and the moment has now passed. I am more inclined to wait for the R10 if it ever arrives. I will however, speak with Milton Keynes when I get a chance (probably Wednesday) to see what their take on the whole issue is, especially since the R8 has spent time back at HQ recently.

 

As I have said before, Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad and any other user would not put up with having to buy a product and then immediately send it back to the factory to make it work - I don't see why some Leica users should have to.

[andybarton]

Is there any way to figure out which of the R8 has a compatibility issue?

 

It doesn't appear so. From what I can gather, in some cases they even have to be individually matched.

 

Quite frankly I find it very amusing to send in the R8 and ask this question from case to case. Besides, what is a potential buyer supposed to do?

 

A potential buyer has to take "pot luck".

[marknorton]

The wonder of all of this is that Leica were able to engineer a back at all that would (theoretically) work with the R8, a camera developed long before there was any serious prospect of a digital back. Shows a certain foresight on the part of the engineers.

 

However, Leica should drop any pretence of "plug-and-play" with the R8 and be more open about the need for upgrade work to the R8 to make it work with the DMR. I don't think anyone would mind that such work is required, what they mind about is that they are being subjected to a try-it-and-see approach.

 

It also seems crazy that this work is not carried out as a matter of course when an R8 comes in for service or repair.

[andybarton]

Precisely.

[pekem]

I am surprised by your comment that you will speak to Leica (UK) in Milton Keynes. Did you not seek their help at the outset?

[uulrich]

It doesn't appear so. From what I can gather, in some cases they even have to be individually matched. A potential buyer has to take "pot luck".

 

'Leica Pot Luck' must start w/ item number 14xxx but I cannot find it in their price lists. ;-)

 

In some sort of a head rush I would like to buy R8 & DMR; after this thread I cannot image how to go for it nor do I know how I could ask a seller to be a bit more specific.

 

As I have said before, Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad and any other user would not put up with having to buy a product and then immediately send it back to the factory to make it work - I don't see why some Leica users should have to.

I had some trouble w/ both of my Nikon's D1. I thought the situation was worse but now I must find myself in a situation far beyond my expectations - whatever this implies.

 

I wonder why Leica dealers are not in the position to provide reliable answers. In your case, bringing in your R8 and returning w/out a suitable answer is somewhat I would not have expected actually. They must be let down by Leica as well.

 

Anyway I am in the queue at Leica Service and I expect some feedback soon.

[andybarton]

I am surprised by your comment that you will speak to Leica (UK) in Milton Keynes. Did you not seek their help at the outset?

 

This is the outset. As I posted, I only tried to buy the DMR on Saturday.

[timbedsted1234]

The wonder of all of this is that Leica were able to engineer a back at all that would (theoretically) work with the R8, a camera developed long before there was any serious prospect of a digital back. Shows a certain foresight on the part of the engineers.

 

However, Leica should drop any pretence of "plug-and-play" with the R8 and be more open about the need for upgrade work to the R8 to make it work with the DMR. I don't think anyone would mind that such work is required, what they mind about is that they are being subjected to a try-it-and-see approach.

 

It also seems crazy that this work is not carried out as a matter of course when an R8 comes in for service or repair.

 

I would take it one step further for the high price of a DMR which includes Flexcolor etc. why not simply make it a part of the offering that whenever a customer buys a DMR, he/she gets a free trip to Solms for their camera, so Leica ensures that the two will really fit together properly.

 

I am sure a lot of R8 owners, which constitute a vast majority of the combined R8+R9 opwners are hesitant to buy the DMR given the uncertain prospect of getting it to work on their R8,

 

Cheers,

Tim

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[FastFashnReloaded]

That really is unacceptable, don't you think?

 

Andy, from working in electronics and mechanicals for a long time I think it is amazing that they (Leica) managed to take an old camera and make it into a digital camera at all.

 

I mean, that's honestly really, really extraordinary. Didn't see the Canonophiles try to make any of their film stuff work as a film AND digital camera. I mean, they may have ripped the guts out of their film cameras, stuffed 'em full of plastic junk and resold them for $2000 more, but they never retrofitted anything per se...

[k_g_wolf ✝]

What DANA said !

 

 

There are far too many words about a probably minor issue only. Let the right people have a look at your camera and your problem might be solved quicker than you thought ...

 

 

Best